Isports ATBP.

Philippine women's number one Marinel Rudas is hoping that the third time’s the charm when she leads the three-member national Fed Cup team to their Asia/Oceania Group II match on February 4 to 10 in Astana, Kazakhstan. Rudas, who is currently playing for undefeated De La Salle University in the ongoing University Athletic Association of the Philippines women's lawn tennis tournament, said they hope to duplicate their feat of clinching a spot in the main draw, where they finished third last year. "We are training hard for the Fed Cup. Sure, we played in various tournaments, but cohesiveness won’t be a problem since we’ve been together for the last three years, and we know each other's strengths and areas to improve on," said Rudas, who will be joined by Marian Jade Capadocia and Anna Clarice Patrimonio in the team. Rudas has fully recovered from her injured knee and has been practicing for one month, focusing on strength and conditioning under the guid...

Philippine sports officials can howl in protest as much as they want to, but I think Myanmar won’t budge on its plan to reduce the number of events and then add four traditional sports where the host country is expected to scoop up most of the medals at stake when it hosts the 27th Southeast Asian Games in December., The Myanmar SEA Games Organizing Committee (Myasoc) plans to remove the Olympic sport badminton, lawn tennis, table tennis, and water polo, events that obviously offer no medal potential for the hosts in the biennial games. Myasoc intends to add the combat sports of Kempo, tarung derajat and vovinam, and the traditional game called chinlone to its program, where 58 gold medals will be at stake. Kempo and Vovinamm alone will have 18 gold medals up for grabs, while Tarung Derajatt and Chinlonee have 14 and eight, respectively. Dragon boat or traditional boat race, a forte of Myanmar athletes, offers 17 gold medals. The addition of the strange sports to the program pu...

The Philippine Weightlifting Association (PWA) found itself  suddenly orphaned after its President, Monico Puentevella, resigned last week as he plans to run for mayor of Bacolod City in the coming mid-term elections. Puentevella has already entrusted the leadership of the said national sports association to Vice Presidents for the Visayas and Mindanao, Diosdado Himotas and Cresenciano Canbalit. The former Congressman, who ran for reelection as Chairman of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) but eventually lost to triathlon chief Tom Carrasco Jr., announced his decision during PWA’s board meeting. The PWA will hold its election in May during the POC-Philippine Sports Commission National Games since most of its members and other officials will attend the event in Lingayen, Pangasinan. Puentevella ran unopposed in the 2008 PWA election in Cebu City after challenger Mark Rommel Alino withdrew his candidacy. Puentevella also got involved in a controversy after ...

It will be a busy 2013 for the  Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) as it prepares local athletes for a number of international tournaments, particularly the Asian Youth Games, the World Youth Games, the Centennial Games and the 27th Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar. POC Chairman Tom Carrasco said the board has already consulted officials of all national sports associations before laying down the plans designed for the country’s participation in several international tournaments "There's no definite action yet. What we had done actually is to lay down what are the international commitments on hand this year and accept suggestions from members as to what to do about them," Carrasco added. The Triathlon Association of the Philippines head said that POC officials believe athletes should be given proper training as it will play an important part in the country’s preparation for SEA Games, just like in 2005 when the country hosted the biennial games and emerged as t...

Philippine Football Federation officials are looking to develop their Under-11 players over the next seven years, aiming to field an all-Filipino team in various international competitions, particularly in the qualifying tournament for the 2019 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Under-17 World Cup. Palami said the PFF is intensifying its grassroots development program, which started last year. "Right now, our focus is to train our Under-11 players. Eventually, our dependence on players outside the Philippines will be lessened because of PFF's local development program." "It will take a while because honing their skills and talents, plus giving them the right kind of experience, may take years. But eventually, we are hoping we will have more of the locally trained players representing the country," added the Philippine Azkals manager. Palami said that, as of the moment, the Philippine national team will still be composed of Filipino-for...

Call 2012 the Year of "The Filipino Flash" after good luck continues to shower Nonito Donaire Jr. when he announced that he is an expectant father to his wife, and taekwondo champion Rachel. Donaire, who won all four of his fights last year, which earned him several Fighter of the Year honours early this year, made the announcement during Monday’s broadcast of the local morning show Umagang Kay Ganda. The four-division champion said he was ecstatic when Rachel told him that he was a soon-to-be father. Donaire’s wife is three months pregnant. “This is bigger compared to all my past titles and Fighter of the Year awards. I have achieved what most of the fighters want to accomplish, but this is a bigger reward,” Donaire said in the interview. The Donaires both wanted a boy. “But what’s important is a healthy baby,” Donaire said. “I want a boy so he can be a big brother to his little sister,” Rachel added. Donaire is fresh from a stunning third-round kno...